US President Donald Trump’s attitude is intriguing to contemplate. On the one hand, he promised “severe punishment” if Saudi Arabian government’s involvement in the journalist’s death is confirmed. But on the other, he said he does not favor stopping arms sales to Saudi Arabia. After a phone call with King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Trump suggested “rogue killers” were to blame.

The crisis has shown how human rights issues are positioned in the diplomatic arena. Killing a journalist for political reasons touches the bottom line of individual rights and causes wide resonance beyond national borders. It deals a devastating blow to the reputation of Saudi Arabia.

The development of human rights is an integral part of modernization. It must be acknowledged that different countries have different priorities in developing human rights.

Western countries have conducted “human rights diplomacy” against many non-Western countries on different occasions and to a varying degree.

It is hard for Saudi Arabia to defend itself this time. The price it will pay depends on whether the Trump administration will let it off the hook for the sake of US commercial interests and geopolitical calculations. It’s highly likely the Trump administration will do so.

South China Morning Post then admitted that China would move to deal with Saudi Arabia if the U.S pulled out.

The Arab nation could turn to countries such as China and Russia to help fulfil its military needs if US sanctions were imposed, a step that would “create an economic disaster that would rock the entire world”, according to a widely cited opinion piece by the general manager of the Saudi-owned Al Arabiya news channel.

In the editorial, Turki Aldakhil said Saudi Arabia – the world’s largest oil exporter – was considering more than 30 countermeasures to be taken against the US, including trading oil in yuan instead of the US dollar.

Of course, the Mainstream Media is helping China by applying pressure to President Trump and acting as if this murder should change anything. The bottom line is that Saudi Arabia and China have been human rights abusers for decades and the fake freak out from China is only another political play.